On Sunday, low-lying areas in Tachileik, Myanmar, the border town opposite Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai, flooded roads and walkways with ankle-deep water after just one day of light rain.
Tachileik News Agency reported that after light rain fell on Saturday night and continued on Sunday, low-lying areas in Tachileik City flooded due to the sewer drains clogged with mud from flooding in September and October 2024.
Authorities reported that the Sai River, which divides Tachileik, Myanmar and Mae Sai Chiang Rai, remained normal and showed no signs of overflowing.
In Mae Sai Chiang Rai, everything remained normal with zero flooding, as the sewer drains were cleared of mud and debris throughout late October and early November.
Meanwhile, the Thailand-Myanmar Joint Committee will meet on December 19th to discuss the flood problems in the fixed border areas of the Sai and Ruak Rivers.
The meeting is to garner joint approval for constructing a flood wall and dredging the Sai River for 14.45 kilometres and the Ruak River for 30.89 kilometres.
The dredging is to be completed by May 2025 or in time for the next year’s rainy season.
From September to October 2024, unusually heavy rainfall caused runoff from the mountain range in Myanmar’s Shan state. The Sai and Ruak rivers overflowed their banks, causing severe flooding in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai and Tachileik township in Myanmar’s Shan State.
Authorities reported that 767 hectares in Myanmar’s Shan State were submerged, while nearly a thousand hectares in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai Province were flooded.
